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24-01-07, 07:39 PM
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Pride on rise for Australia Day
By Christine Flatley
January 24, 2007 05:50pm
Article from: AAP
IT'S the day Australians come together to raise the flag, sizzle sausages and race national pests.
From the pomp of citizenship and Australian of the Year ceremonies to the laid-back backyard cricket games and thong throwing competitions, this year's Australia Day celebrations have something for everyone.
National Australia Day Council figures show 66 per cent of Australians this year plan to celebrate on Friday, with 21 per cent heading to one or more of the thousands of organised events around the country.
Director of the National Australia Day Council Warren Pearson said national pride is on the rise, and the day is all about celebrating who we are, where we've come from and where we're heading.
?Australia Day is growing in importance and we've seen a real groundswell in participation since about 2000, but not only in people going to the sausage sizzles and the huge fireworks displays, but also people reflecting on the meaning of Australia Day,? Mr Pearson said.
?It's about what it is that we celebrate and what it is that we recommit to to make sure that we continue to be a great nation.?
No Australia Day is complete without the smell of sizzling steaks and Sydney is holding the mother of all barbecues all day in Hyde Park, while in Cairns you can sample crocodile, kangaroo and camel straight off the hotplate.
Sydney music lovers should head to Parramatta for an outdoor concert with the likes of Deni Hines, Endorphin and Killing Heidi.
In the Sunshine State, Brisbane will this year host Queensland's first ever Australia Day Festival South Bank.
The Beautiful Girls and local lad Andrew Morris will provide the entertainment after the fireworks display.
Festivities in Perth begin with a formal lunch for 250 people at government house and end with the resounding bang of fireworks over the Swan River for an estimated 400,000 people.
Mr Pearson said the crowds were expected to turn out in their best patriotic colours, and that nobody should feel ashamed to wear the flag with pride.
?Australia Day is about including people, not excluding people,? he said.
?When people come to the organised events they come dressed for the occasion, whether it's the flag, green and gold, or their Wallabies jersey ... people are doing it naturally (and) young people turning up dripping in the flag is great to see.?
Kitsch games are also a tradition on Australia Day, and Brisbane's Story Bridge Hotel's famous ****roach races are a favourite, while further north in Cairns Australia's most hated pest ? the cane toad ? will be pitted against one other.
Aussie World on the Sunshine Coast will host dunny races, keg lifting, cooee calling and mullet tossing ? the fish, not the hairstyle ? to name just a few.
In Cairns, you can stuff your face at the meat pie eating competition or try your hand at thong throwing.
NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland will also battle it out to create the longest line of ?inflatable thongs? (floating air mattresses in the shape of the footwear) to break the world record set at Coogee Beach last year.
Mr Pearson said such ?silly? events were part of our national identity and should be embraced.
?Australians are a quirky bunch and I think that our sense of humour comes out in what we do,? he said.
?We don't take ourselves seriously but we do take what we do seriously.?
To check what's on in your city or town visit the www.australiaday.gov.au website.
Pride on rise for Australia Day
By Christine Flatley
January 24, 2007 05:50pm
Article from: AAP
IT'S the day Australians come together to raise the flag, sizzle sausages and race national pests.
From the pomp of citizenship and Australian of the Year ceremonies to the laid-back backyard cricket games and thong throwing competitions, this year's Australia Day celebrations have something for everyone.
National Australia Day Council figures show 66 per cent of Australians this year plan to celebrate on Friday, with 21 per cent heading to one or more of the thousands of organised events around the country.
Director of the National Australia Day Council Warren Pearson said national pride is on the rise, and the day is all about celebrating who we are, where we've come from and where we're heading.
?Australia Day is growing in importance and we've seen a real groundswell in participation since about 2000, but not only in people going to the sausage sizzles and the huge fireworks displays, but also people reflecting on the meaning of Australia Day,? Mr Pearson said.
?It's about what it is that we celebrate and what it is that we recommit to to make sure that we continue to be a great nation.?
No Australia Day is complete without the smell of sizzling steaks and Sydney is holding the mother of all barbecues all day in Hyde Park, while in Cairns you can sample crocodile, kangaroo and camel straight off the hotplate.
Sydney music lovers should head to Parramatta for an outdoor concert with the likes of Deni Hines, Endorphin and Killing Heidi.
In the Sunshine State, Brisbane will this year host Queensland's first ever Australia Day Festival South Bank.
The Beautiful Girls and local lad Andrew Morris will provide the entertainment after the fireworks display.
Festivities in Perth begin with a formal lunch for 250 people at government house and end with the resounding bang of fireworks over the Swan River for an estimated 400,000 people.
Mr Pearson said the crowds were expected to turn out in their best patriotic colours, and that nobody should feel ashamed to wear the flag with pride.
?Australia Day is about including people, not excluding people,? he said.
?When people come to the organised events they come dressed for the occasion, whether it's the flag, green and gold, or their Wallabies jersey ... people are doing it naturally (and) young people turning up dripping in the flag is great to see.?
Kitsch games are also a tradition on Australia Day, and Brisbane's Story Bridge Hotel's famous ****roach races are a favourite, while further north in Cairns Australia's most hated pest ? the cane toad ? will be pitted against one other.
Aussie World on the Sunshine Coast will host dunny races, keg lifting, cooee calling and mullet tossing ? the fish, not the hairstyle ? to name just a few.
In Cairns, you can stuff your face at the meat pie eating competition or try your hand at thong throwing.
NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland will also battle it out to create the longest line of ?inflatable thongs? (floating air mattresses in the shape of the footwear) to break the world record set at Coogee Beach last year.
Mr Pearson said such ?silly? events were part of our national identity and should be embraced.
?Australians are a quirky bunch and I think that our sense of humour comes out in what we do,? he said.
?We don't take ourselves seriously but we do take what we do seriously.?
To check what's on in your city or town visit the www.australiaday.gov.au website.